Pending home sales declined 1.1 percent in October compared to September. Nationally contract signings are up 20.2 percent compared to a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. In the West, pending home sales are up 20.8 percent over a year ago. Meanwhile both the inventory of homes for sale and mortgage rates are now at historic lows.
“The housing market is still hot but we may be starting to see the rising home prices hurting affordability,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. But “work from home flexibility has increased the demand for both primary and secondary homes,” he added.